7 Simple and Paleo-Friendly Crockpot Recipes to Serve for Dinner

If you’re looking for a simple way to serve delicious Paleo dishes at dinner, try letting the slow cooker do the work for you! Every evening you’ll return to find a tantalizing dish just waiting to be served to the family. These 7 slow-cooked recipes offer the very best in Paleo textures and flavors while requiring minimal effort in the kitchen.

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1. Chai Tea Brisket

Strictly Delicious shares this recipe for a distinctive Chai Tea Brisket, sure to become a go-to for family dinners. The dish requires just 15 minutes of prep time, plus 6 to 8 hours in the slow cooker, culminating in a melt-in-your-mouth brisket, spiced with the exotic flavors of chai. This sophisticated dish is Paleo-friendly, boasting gluten-free and dairy-free credentials as well. The recipe yields 4 to 5 servings.

Ingredients:

1½ pounds of brisket

Sea salt and ground black pepper

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 cup brewed chai tea

½ cup beef broth

4 to 5 cloves of garlic

3 to 5 sprigs of thyme

1 bay leaf

Directions: Dry all moisture off of the brisket with a few paper towels. Season each side of the roast generously with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Heat the olive oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the brisket to the skillet. Sear on all sides for 3 to 4 minutes each, or until a gorgeous brown crust forms on each side. Place the seared brisket in the slow cooker.

Add the garlic cloves and thyme to the skillet and turn the heat down to medium. Cook the herbs until fragrant and the garlic is turning golden, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Add all ingredients to the slow cooker with the brisket. Cover and cook the brisket on low for 6 to 8 hours. (Use the lower end of that timeframe for sliceable meat and the higher end for shred-able meat.) Serve drizzled with the broth in which it cooked.

Source: iStock

2. Spiced Paleo Chili

Paleo Newbie’s Spiced Beef Chili is loaded with vegetables and seasonings, making for in a hearty and soothing homemade dish. This surprisingly low-maintenance dinner dish combines protein-packed beef, tangy tomatoes, and a bold mix of spices — think chili, oregano, basil, cumin, and cayenne — to create a flavorful and zesty dish for the whole family. The recipe yields 8 servings.

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground beef

1 onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 red and 1 green bell pepper, both diced

1 cup carrots, finely diced

1 cup celery, diced

1 jalapeno, minced

1 (28-ounce) can crushed or stewed tomatoes

1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes

1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce

Seasoning:

3 tablespoons chili powder

1 tablespoon oregano

1 tablespoon basil

2 teaspoons cumin

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon of cayenne

Garnish:

About 4 pieces of bacon, fried and crumbled

1 or 2 avocados, diced

Directions: Saute onions and garlic together in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add ground beef to the saucepan and brown. Drain excess fat, then transfer to crockpot along with cooked onions and garlic.

Add all vegetables and spices (except garnish ingredients) to the crockpot. Stir, then set crockpot to low and let mixture cook for 6 hours. Once finished, spoon into individual bowls and garnish with crumbled bacon and avocado slices. Serve hot and enjoy!

Source: iStock

3. Thai Beef Stew

Indulge in the spiced, complex flavors of Thai cuisine with Against All Grain’s Thai Beef Stew. The stew combines mild coconut flavors with the robust tastes of curry paste, tangy lime juice, and ginger to create an unforgettable meal your friends and family will love. The recipe requires 20 minutes of prep time plus 5 to 8 hours in the slow cooker (depending what level you cook it on) and yields 6 to 8 servings. To keep the whole meal Paleo, try serving your dish along with a simple cauliflower rice.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons coconut oil, divided

3 pounds beef stew meat, trimmed of fat

1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons peeled and minced fresh ginger

1 (13.5-ounce) can full-fat coconut milk

⅓ cup tomato paste

½ cup Thai red curry paste

2 tablespoons fish sauce

2 teaspoons fresh lime juice

2 teaspoons sea salt

2 cups broccoli florets

2 cups julienned carrots

1 cup peeled and julienned jicama

fresh cilantro, for garnish

Directions: Heat 1 tablespoon of the coconut oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, brown the meat on all sides.

Use a slotted spoon to transfer each batch of browned meat directly to the slow cooker, then continue browning. Wipe out the skillet between batches if a lot of liquid has accumulated at the bottom to ensure even browning.

Wipe out the skillet and add the remaining 1 tablespoon of coconut oil. Saute the onion, garlic, and ginger over medium high heat for 5 minutes.

Pour in the coconut milk and stir continuously to release the browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Add the tomato paste, curry paste, fish sauce, lime juice, and salt, then pour the mixture over the beef in the slow cooker.

Cook on high for 5 hours or low for 8 hours. Add the broccoli, carrots, and jicama during the last 30 minutes if cooking on high, or the last hour if cooking on low. Serve garnished with cilantro.

Source: iStock

4. Cauliflower Rice And Greek Chicken Bowl

Kalyn’s Kitchen’s Cauliflower Rice And Greek Chicken Bowl offers a lighter taste of slow-cooked goodness. A refreshing Mediterranean salsa complements the dish, offering the flavors of onion, feta cheese, olives, and more for a perfectly Paleo dinner. The recipe yields 4 to 6 servings. If you have leftovers, you can keep the shredded lemon chicken in your refrigerator for about a day or two; it’s easy to reheat on the stove or in the microwave. The leftover chicken will taste best with freshly-made batches of salsa and cauliflower rice.

Ingredients:

Chicken:

4 large chicken breasts, trimmed and cut into lengthwise strips

Zest and juice of 2 lemons

1 tablespoon Greek seasoning

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

½ teaspoon Greek oregano

½ teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper

Cauliflower rice:

1 large head cauliflower, leaves cut off and chopped or grated into “rice” sized pieces

1 large green bell pepper, finely chopped

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon Greek seasoning

salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste

Greek salsa:

3 medium cucumbers, chopped

1 cup chopped cherry tomatoes

¼ cup chopped Kalamata olives (or black olives)

¼ cup finely chopped red onion

4 ounces crumbled Feta Cheese (about ½ cup)

¼ cup Italian dressing of your choice

Directions: Trim the chicken and cut each piece lengthwise into 2 to 3 strips, depending on how large the chicken breasts are. Grate the zest and squeeze the juice from the lemons, then whisk the zest and juice together with the Greek seasoning, olive oil, Greek oregano, and black pepper to make the cooking sauce. Spray the slow cooker insert with olive oil or non-stick spray, put chicken in the bottom, and pour the cooking sauce mixture over. Cook on high for about 3 hours or on low for 5 hours, until the chicken shreds apart easily with a fork.

When the chicken is done, use a slotted spoon to remove it to a cutting board, leaving the flavorful sauce in the slow cooker. Shred chicken apart with two forks, put it back in the slow cooker, and stir gently so the chicken is coated with sauce. Keep chicken warm on the low setting while you prep the other ingredients.

Trim the cauliflower and discard the leaves. If you’re using a food processor to chop up the cauliflower into “rice,” first cut the cauliflower (including stems) into small pieces. Then pulse the cauliflower pieces using the steel blade in the food processor until it’s finely chopped. You can also make the “rice” by grating larger pieces of cauliflower with a large standing box grater.

Finely chop the green pepper and the onion. Heat the tablespoon of olive oil in a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat, add the green pepper and onion, and cook about 3 minutes or until the vegetables are softened and starting to brown. Add the Greek seasoning and cook 1 minute more; then add the chopped cauliflower and cook, turning a few times, until the cauliflower is starting to soften and brown, about 3 to 4 minutes. Season the cauliflower rice with salt and fresh-ground black pepper.

Chop the cucumbers, tomatoes, Kalamata or black olives, and red onion. Put those chopped ingredients in a bowl, stir in the ¼ cup Italian dressing, and then gently stir in the crumbled feta.

To assemble the bowl, put some of the hot cauliflower rice in the bottom of a serving bowl. On top of the rice put a generous scoop of the shredded lemon chicken from the slow cooker, and then top that with a scoop of the Greek salsa mixture. Serve right away.

Source: iStock

5. Turkey and Zucchini Lasagna

My Natural Family’s Turkey and Zucchini Lasagna indulges those pesky pasta cravings we all have, without cheating on a Paleo diet. Thinly-sliced zucchini make a wonderful stand-in for lasagna noodles, combining with ground turkey, basil, homemade marinara sauce, and a creamy “cheese” layer to make a tantalizing Italian-inspired dish. The cheesy Paleo sauce gets its flavor from onion, squash, garlic, coconut milk, and egg. The recipe takes 30 minutes to prepare plus 2 hours to cook, and yields 6 servings.

Directions: For the marinara sauce:Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and salt and saute for 2 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for 30 seconds more. Add the tomatoes and honey and reduce heat to medium.

Let the sauce cook down for about 20 minutes, or until no longer watery and slightly thick. Check seasonings and add more salt, if needed.

For the meat filling: Heat the olive oil in a saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the ground turkey and break apart with a spatula. Cook the turkey for 2 minutes then add the onion, salt and pepper. Continue cooking until turkey is cooked through — make sure it has been broken up into small crumbles — and the onion is soft.

Remove the pan from heat and toss the fresh basil into the mixture.

Paleo cheesy sauce: Heat the olive oil to medium in a small saucepan. Add the chopped onion, summer squash, salt, and garlic to the pan and saute for about 3 to 4 minutes, until the onion is translucent; do not brown.

Add ¼ cup of the coconut milk to the pan and bring to a boil. Simmer for 2 minutes, or until more than half of the liquid is absorbed. Place the mixture in a blender with the remaining ¼ cup coconut milk and puree until very smooth. Add the egg and puree until well blended.

To assemble lasagna: Lightly grease the inside of a crock pot. Cover the bottom of the crock pot with about ¾ cup of the marinara sauce, spreading it out evenly. Place about 5 zucchini “noodles” side by side over the marinara sauce.

Spoon a layer of the “cheese sauce” — about ½ cup — over the zucchini noodles. Sprinkle a heaping ½ cup of the meat mixture over the sauce. Spoon about ½ to ¾ cup of the marinara sauce evenly over the meat mixture. Repeat this layering process until you have made 5 layers (zucchini, sauce, meat, marinara) ending with the marinara sauce.

Cover and cook on high for 1½ hours. After 1½ hours, remove the lid. Using a turkey baster or a ladle, remove all excess liquid that has pooled in the crock pot and place it in a shallow frying pan.

Bring the liquid to a boil and simmer for about 5 to 7 minutes, or until reduced into a thick, creamy sauce. Pour the sauce over the top of the lasagna in the crock pot and serve.

Source: iStock

6. Sausage Minestrone Soup

Our Paleo Life’s Crockpot Minestrone Soup can be enjoyed by all eaters — Paleo or not. The soup combines fresh vegetables such as carrots and spinach with a sensational garlic, basil, and cayenne seasoning. Omitting the pork sausage will also make this dish suitable for vegetarian and vegan diets. The recipe takes 20 minutes to prepare, plus 8 hours to simmer in the slow cooker, and yields 6 to 8 servings.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 yellow sweet potato, diced

1 cup carrots, diced

2 celery stalks, diced

2 zucchini squash, diced

2 shallots, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 (28-ounce) container chicken or vegetable broth

1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice

½ cup frozen spinach -or- 1 cup packed Fresh Spinach, chopped

2 bay leaves

2 teaspoons oregano

1 teaspoon basil

1 teaspoon parsley

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

¼ teaspoon sea salt

1½ pounds ground pork sausage (optional)

Directions: Place the olive oil in the bottom of the crock pot. Add the prepared sweet potatoes, carrots, celery, zucchini, shallots, and garlic to the crock pot. Pour in the chicken (or vegetable) broth, then add the entire can (including juice) of diced tomatoes and the frozen spinach (no need to thaw and drain, just add it frozen). Add in the oregano, basil, parsley, cayenne, and salt.

Stir everything together, add the bay leaves, cover, and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. About 2 hours before the soup is done, brown the ground pork sausage, breaking it up into small pieces with the back of a wooden spoon. Once the pork is cooked through (no pink), add it to the crock pot and mix it all together. Remove bay leaves before serving.

Source: iStock

7. Chicken Teriyaki

Rubies and Radishes offers this juicy, tender Chicken Teriyaki recipe for a sweet and tangy entrée that everyone will adore. Coconut aminos are a Paleo-friendly ingredient, offering these chicken thighs a key hint of sweetness to result in that wonderful teriyaki taste.

Directions: Place chicken in the slow cooker. In a small bowl, mix coconut aminos, honey, fresh ginger, and garlic cloves. Pour the sauce over the chicken and cook on low for 4 to 5 hours. Use a slotted spoon to remove the chicken from the slow cooker. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Serve and enjoy!